Wills for Heroes San Diego Saturday, January 30, 2016

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If you know a firefighter or police officer in your life, let him/her know about Wills For Heroes program.  San Diego has its own division, but it is a nation-wide organization.

Here is a bit more about the organization:

“Anthony Hayes, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLP, in Columbia, South Carolina, started the Wills for Heroes program shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Anthony emailed the Columbia Fire Department asking what lawyers could do to help that department. During an impromptu focus group, it became clear that there was a glaring need for estate planning services.

Since then, Wills for Heroes programs in ten states have provided more than 7,000 free estate planning documents for first responders. Because of the tremendous success of these programs, attorneys and bar associations across the United States started requesting assistance with implementing Wills for Heroes programs in their communities. In response, Jeff Jacobson and Anthony Hayes created the Wills for Heroes Foundation to oversee the nationwide expansion of these programs and connect volunteer attorneys with local first responders.” Wills for Heroes & San Diego division

San Diego Event

San Diego is hosting an event on Saturday, January 30, 2016 at the San Diego County Bar Association located at 401 W A St #1100, San Diego, CA 92101. Read more & sign up. I’ll see our first responders there!

Spring weddings are coming up. Add this to your wedding prep plans.

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While parts of the County like Mission Valley, La Jolla, Fashion Valley, Ocean Beach and Sorrento Valley are currently  experiencing flooding issues this season with the recent El Nino related storms, some residents are thinking positively and are looking forward to a brighter upcoming Spring wedding season.

Weddings in general are surrounded by happy thoughts for the bride, the groom and their families. Most brides and grooms go through the motions of attending wedding expos and food samplings in preparation for their big day. These are all fun activities. But there are two activities that tends to get left out, probably for being considered less enjoyable: premarital legal planning and financial planning prior to marriage.  What is premarital legal planning? This can include the following:

For example, I once worked with a couple who were both previously married. The bride-to-be had a child from her previous marriage and the groom-to-be had an inheritance from his parents. Both wanted to know how their upcoming marriage was going to affect the bride’s son and the groom’s inheritance. Fortunately, they came for legal help before marriage thereby allowing them some important options. It was a bit of a rushed process since their wedding date was about 4 weeks out, however, timely assistance was possible.  Premarital legal planning is important.

If you’re getting married in 2016, we recommend that you speak with an attorney if you have any questions about your finances, family planning or property ownership planning. Marriage may or may not affect your situation. A consultation will help you determine your options.

Can I Safely Create a Will Using a Self-Help Form Available Online?

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We totally understand that sometimes electing to use self-help options is cheaper and faster to use. But, be very cautious with forms available online when it comes to creating a Will for yourself. This applies to both free forms and paid-for forms.

From our perspective, using a form online to create a Will is like using a self-help medical site to diagnose a medical condition online. They help by highlighting general aspects, but the document will not be custom to your particular needs and may not be done correctly. Most importantly, it won’t be custom to fit your family’s needs. Cutting corners by using an online form is not recommended for many other reasons: the document may contain outdated language, the document may contain provisions not recognized by the State, the document may not be executed correctly, the document may be ineffective as prepared, or the document omits serious terms which could have serious consequences.

An estate planning attorney, even through a consultation, will guide you in the right direction and provide you with information custom to your needs.  Having a properly drafted Will by an attorney helps you ensure that your hard-earned money and property will pass on to those you designate.

We do not recommend using or buying any estate planning documents online that are offered for free or cheap. In our opinion, they cause more headaches than its worth if done incorrectly. Seek a consultation about a Will. It will save you time, money and energy in the long run.

Suggested life-events to create a Will:

  • Buying a new house
  • New baby in your family
  • New job or pay increase
  • Marriage, divorce, or recent family death
  • Children leaving for college
  • New business or company
  • Health problems

New year, new you. Here is an attainable resolution for you to add to your list and crush within 3 months.

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Happy New Year, 2016! Every new years, San Diegans create exciting resolutions to improve their lives. This tradition of creating resolutions has been known to exist during Babylonian time as we all want to live quality lives and improve our lives with a new calendar year. Some resolutions are very attainable while others are short-lived and last only a calendar month or so; trust me, we’ve all made those short-lived ones meant to improve our lives radically. Resolutions usually include:

  • Improve well-being;
  • Exercise;
  • Think more positively;
  • Upgrade wardrobe;
  • Put more money in savings;
  • Pay off all credit cards this year;
  • Improve finances; and
  • Spend more quality time with friends and family.

However, there is one resolution that often gets overlooked and that is to take care of your loved ones through planning. This is a resolution that should be handled in the next three calendar months to avoid having it become a short-lived resolution.  Taking care of your loved ones can be handled through creating a Last Will and Testament and/or a Revocable Living Trust. Most consider these documents are something the elderly group should concern themselves with, but this belief is entirely incorrect.  These documents are beneficial to anyone over the age of 18.  Essentially, these documents describe what happens to your cars(s), money, belongings, and possibly children, if you become incapacitated or die. These documents are created to have just in case anything were to happen to you. Of course, even though documents are created, we hope you live a great 2016 and many more years to come.  The documents described above are created in case of the unexpected and persons of all ages, especially after 18, should have one.

As life moves forward quickly in 2016 and you earn a pay raise, grow your family with new children or nieces and nephews, buy a new home, experience changes in your network of friends and family, it is a good time now (at the beginning of a new calendar year) to consider what Will or Trust you have in place. If you do not have anything in place, you should consider establishing one. If you have a Will or Trust in place but have not revisited the documents in years, it is a great time to reconsider the contents of the documents you have established.

As a courtesy reminder, do not mark your current Will or Trust with pen or pencil to note any changes. Doing so may invalidate your documents and really complicate your probate administration or trust administration.  If you are considering making changes to your Will or Trust, speak with an attorney to learn about the process. Depending upon the amount of changes you desire, different steps will be necessary to make those changes legally effective.

Crush this resolution by giving yourself a deadline.  Over the next 3 months, consider establishing or revisiting your Will or Trust. Now  that we’re already in the new year and you are soon going to be in the mind frame of handling your finances and taxes this upcoming tax season, it would also be a great time to add “estate planning review” to your list of goals to accomplish this year. In doing so, you’d crush your new years resolution of taking care of your loved ones in case of your absence.  Leaving your loved ones without such planning could cost them plenty of time and more importantly, money.

Call to schedule an appointment to discuss any of the following points involved in the process of estate planning. These are a list of commonly asked questions covered during an initial consultation about estate planning:

  • Should I create a Will or a Revocable Living Trust?
  • What does a Revocable Living Trust do?
  • Is a Revocable Living Trust better than a Will?
  • How much do you charge to establish a Will or Revocable Living Trust?
  • How long does it take to establish a Will or Revocable Living Trust?
  • Can I make changes to my Will or Revocable Living Trust over my lifetime?
  • How do I plan things so that upon my death, my wife/husband and our kids receive my money and property?
  • I have been divorced and remarried, are there any special provisions I need to include in my Will or Trust?
  • I do not have much, do I still need to create a Will or Revocable Living Trust?
  • What happens to our minor kids in case my wife/husband and I die simultaneously?
  • I have property in different states, how do I plan for that?
  • I want to plan for my children’s well-being after my death, what options do I have?
  • What happens to my debts when I die?
  • What provisions should I include in my Will or Revocable Living Trust.

Knock out an estate planning review in the next three months and rest easily for the rest of 2016 knowing that you have then cared for your loved ones with proper planning.  Ryan-Cruz Law, APC offers free 1-hour consultations concerning estate planning. Let us help you accomplish this task.

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Recording A Quitclaim Deed with the San Diego County Recorder’s Office

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If you established a Revocable Living Trust in the recent past or anytime in the past, remember that after establishing your Trust, you must also “fund” the Trust. Funding it means to place things into the Trust so that it can be administered and carried out the way it is intended.

If you haven’t funded your real property into your Revocable Living Trust, you can do so by signing (before a notary public) a Quitclaim Deed and subsequently recording it locally with the San Diego Recorder’s Office.  Only real property physically located here in the county can be controlled by the San Diego County Recorder’s Office. If you live in San Diego, but have real property physically located outside of this county, you will have to seek assistance that that county’s Recorder’s Office for assistance in funding your Trust or other real property matters.

The following is more information published from the San Diego County Recorder’s Office as of July 6, 2015. You are encouraged to review their official website for current information.

The County Recorder, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, will accept any document which is authorized or required by California law to be recorded, if the document contains required information and if it is photographically reproducible.

For your convenience, documents may be presented for recording in the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offices at the addresses listed below.

County Administration Center
1600 Pacific Highway, Suite 260
San Diego, CA 92101
El Cajon Branch
200 S. Magnolia Ave
El Cajon, CA 92020		 San Marcos Branch
141 East Carmel St.
San Marcos, CA 92078

All applicable fees must be paid at the time of recording, click RECORDING FEES.

For information on hours of business and directions to the office locations, quit this option and
click PHONE #’S/LOCATIONS.

Each document presented for recording MUST include or comply with the following general requirements.

If any portion of your recordable document is in a foreign language*, it must be translated into English. The translator will need to complete a Declaration and Verification of Interpretation form for submission to the County Clerk. The County Clerk will then complete a Translation Certificate for a fee of $10.00. Both the Declaration of Interpretation and the Translation Certificate forms must be completed and attached to the document prior to recording.

The document should not contain more than the last four digits of the Social Security number, pursuant to Civil Code 1798.89. This does not apply to documents executed prior to January 1, 2010 or certified copies of the death certificate attached to the documents.

  1. The property must be located in San Diego County.(CC1169)
  2. The document must be authorized or required by law to be recorded. (GC 27201)
  3. The document must be submitted with the proper fees and taxes. (GC 6301, 27201, 27261)
  4. The document must be in compliance with state and local laws.
  5. The document should Name the person requesting recording. (GC 27361.6)
  6. The document should state the Name and address to whom the document should be returned, fill in “Recording Requested By and Mail To”. (GC 27361.6)
  7. The document must be legible enough to produce a readable photographic record.(GC 27201, 27361.6, 27361.7)
  8. Signatures must be original unless the document is a certified copy issued by the appropriate custodian of the public record. (GC 27201b, GC 28288, Evid Code 1530)
  9. The document must be properly acknowledged, unless exempt. All purpose acknowledgments taken in California must be completed as prescribed by law.  Any certificate of acknowledgment taken in another place shall be sufficient in this state if it is taken in accordance with the laws of the place where the acknowledgment is made. (GOV 27201, 27285, 27287, 27288, 27289, CIV 1189)
  10. The Assessor’s Parcel Number is required on deeds by local Ordinance. (R&T 11911.1)
  11. The notary seal must be legible for a microfilm reproduction .(GC 8207)

Documentary Transfer Tax is due on all taxable conveyances in excess of $100 at a rate of $.55 per $500 or fractional portion of real property value; excluding any liens or encumbrances already of record as required, per Revenue and Taxation Code 11911. It is collected at the time of recording on each deed, or instrument. A Documentary Transfer Tax Declaration must be completed and signed for all deeds. If no Documentary Transfer Tax is due, so indicate by entering “0” on the tax line and sign the declaration. Please explain the reason why no tax is due on the document or on a separate signed statement.(R&T 11932)

When transferring property to ANYONE a “Preliminary Change of Ownership Report” IS REQUIRED per the Revenue and Taxation Code 480.2, click PRELIMINARY CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP REPORT. This document is in Acrobat PDF format.

If a “Preliminary Change of Ownership Report” is required, but not submitted at the time of recording, please include an additional $20.00 for the Ownership Change fee. Preliminary Change of Ownership Forms are available at the customer counter or it can be mailed to you upon request by calling (619) 238-8158.

You may also mail in your documents for recording with a check,cashiers check or money order made payable to:

The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk
P.O. Box 121750
San Diego, California 92112-1750

Your request is processed upon receipt. Please allow 2-4 weeks to receive your original recorded document back in the mail.

The office of the Recorder/County Clerk is PROHIBITED from giving ANY legal advice or to assist in document preparation. We DO NOT provide any notarial services. Various types of forms may be purchased at office supply or stationary stores.

Once you have the appropriate form, you may prepare it yourself, consult legal counsel or contact a local title company or escrow company.

Photo Credit: San Diego County.gov